Ancient history

20. Second Edition of the Great Roman Empire

Scattering of Italy

In AD 493, on the orders of Emperor Zeno of the Eastern Roman Empire, his feudatory Theodoric invaded Italy and became the ruler of Rome himself after killing the Roman ruler Odovecar. Theodoric was the head of the Ostrogoth clan of Germany but was considered a trusted confidant of the Roman Emperor Zeno.

Although Theodoric was ordered by the Roman Emperor himself to take over Rome, the wealthy feudal lords of Italy were not ready to accept a non-Roman-blood line as their ruler and there were rebellions from place to place. Due to this the process of disintegration of Italy happened very rapidly.

For the next about a thousand years, Italy was scattered as small city-states and came under various foreign powers. Some parts of Italy were occupied by Spain, some by Austria and some parts by France but 'Holy See' Namely Vatican City remained in control of Rome.

Rise of the New Roman Empire

The Ostrogoth tribe and its king were Christians but they were the 'European Arians' of Christians. He belonged to the sect which the Pope of Rome did not accept under Christianity. That's why the Pope wanted to replace the Goth dynasty with a dynasty that followed Catholic Christianity.

When the Goths ruled Rome for a few generations, the Pope of Rome sought help from King Clovis of another barbarian clan. Clovis was also not of Catholicism. He is the 'Ariaswad sect of Christians' But at the behest of the Pope, he accepted Catholicism.

The clan of King Clovis was originally a Germanic tribe living in northern Europe called the Franks. The Frank clan drove the Ostrogoths out of Rome. The Pope accepted the Frank chieftain Clovis as the ruler of Rome. With this, a new Roman Empire was established in Rome. Also called 'Roman Empire' Said.

Although this new state had no relation with the old Roman Empire, but this new state was considered as a continuation of the old state. The kings of this new dynasty also took on ancient Roman titles such as Imperator, Caesar and August. Rome was ruled by the chieftains of the barbaric tribes of northern Europe for many generations, but they also often considered the 'Emperor' of Kustuntunia as their master. In fact the new Roman Empire was just a shadow of the old Roman Empire.

Shadow or Ghost of the Ancient Roman Empire!

Even after the painful destruction of the ancient great Roman Empire, neither the pride of the Romans diminished nor the intoxication of its greatness came from the mind of Europe. Pt. Nehru has written- 'Europe continued to speak in the language of Rome even after the fall of Rome, but the expressions and meanings behind it had changed. The ghost of Rome hovered over the existence of Europe until about fourteen hundred years after the fall of Rome.'

Lombardy kings rule Rome

In AD 565, the leader of the Lombardy dynasty, Alboin, expelled the Frank kings from Rome and established the Lombardy dynasty in Rome. The Lombardy rulers did not belong to any one dynasty. They were people from different families who went on to become rulers of Italy and Rome one after the other. From AD 565 to AD 774, there were 24 kings in this dynasty. These people did not become kings by the grace of the Pope, so the relationship between the Pope and the Lombardy kings was not good.

Conflict between Pope and Lombardy rulers

From the time of Julius Caesar, the king of Rome was considered a god and he was accepted as the representative of God on earth, but Christianity did not consider the king as the representative of God. Ever since the bishop of the Catholic Church of Rome became influential as Pope and the reign of kings of the ancient Roman Empire came to an end, the Pope also began to call himself the representative of God.

With this authority, both the Pope and the Emperor became equal, but a cold war situation arose between the Pope and the Emperor over the issue of who was the greater of the two. Over time, this controversy only escalated. In AD 727, Pope Grigory (II) refused to obey orders issued by Emperor Leo (III) of the Eastern Roman Empire. On this the emperor sent an army against Rome and took control of Rome. The Pope had to obey the orders of the Emperor and after that Pope Grigory (II) did not oppose the Emperor.

In AD 730, the local Lombard ruler of Rome wanted to follow the Pope on his instructions, but the Pope refused to obey his orders. On this, the Lombard ruler caused great violence in Rome and Vatican City. Although the Pope remained safe among the high walls of his palace and in this task he also received some assistance from the army of Constantinople, the Pope could not do much against the Lombardy. In AD 739, Grigory (III) sought help from the French ruler Charles Marte.

Rise of the Papal State

Pope Stephen (II) went to France in AD 754. He defeated the youngest King Pippin (I) of the Frank clan 'Patricius Romanorum' i.e. 'Guardian of Rome' Awarded the title In August 1754, King Pippin (I) and Pope Stephen (II) crossed the Alps mountain and defeated the Lombard ruler Astulf at a place called Pavia. The Lombard ruler promised that he would no longer interfere in Rome and would hand over the territory of Rome to the Pope, whose rule would be under the Pope.

After this treaty, Pippin again returned to his kingdom and the Pope went to Rome, but the Lombard ruler did not follow any of his promises and in AD 756 he besieged Rome. The siege lasted for 56 days, but when he heard that the Frank King Pippin was coming with his army, the Lombard ruler Austulf left Rome after taking the siege.

He gave Rome and some of its surrounding areas to the Pope, which became the direct territories of the Pope. Thus 'Papal State' (Religious State or Holy State) The rise of Earlier the Pope was only the bishop of the Catholic Church, but now he himself has become the king of a small kingdom.

The end of Lombardy power

In AD 771 the new Lombard ruler Desiderius made a plan to conquer Rome and capture Pope Stephen (III) on the pretext of making a pilgrimage to the Catholic Church, and he entered the Vatican with some of his soldiers. His chief assistant, Paul Efiarta, was already in Rome with a contingent of Lombardy men.

Desiderius took Rome under his control but he could not capture the Pope. This mischief of the Lombardy enraged the Frank King Charlemagne, who had succeeded his father Pippin (I) as the ruler of France.

'Charles the Great' this king in the history of Europe Also called. In AD 772, Stephen (III) was replaced by Hadrian (the first) as Pope. He called on the Frank ruler Charlman for help. In AD 773, Charlemagne's third son Pippin (II) defeated the Lombard king Desiderius. With the end of Desiderius, the Lombardy power ended in Rome and a new era began in Rome.